Hey NHL refs and department of player safety: wake up!

I respect the heck out of Brendan Shanahan and know he has a thankless job. He is, as they say where I come from, wicked smart (smaht).
But I’m sorry, what happened to Milan Hejduk from Columbus Blue Jackets forward Derek MacKenzie on Sunday and the zero consequences he paid for it? It makes even me mad, the guy who is supposed to be objective and play no favorites for the team I cover.

How the bleep does Derek McKenzie not only not get suspended for the following hit on Hejduk that happened in Sunday’s game with the Blue Jackets, but not even a two-minute penalty?

Done seeing that video of the hit? Uh, McKenzie did a Lambeau Leap into Hejduk. He got more air than Michael Jordan on that hit. How the bleep does MacKenzie not get a penalty on that?????????????? Did MacKenzie fail to jump literally out of Nationwide Arena, is that why he didn’t get a penalty?

Honestly, what a joke this is. By all accounts, Derek MacKenzie is a nice guy, with a reputation as a tough but honest player. That’s great, but this is one of the biggest no-brainer penalties I’ve EVER seen in my years covering hockey, and yet MacKenzie got nothing. Nothing from referees Paul (March 26, 1997, no game-misconduct for Darren McCarty for an obvious instigator on Claude Lemieux) and Tim Peel, and nothing from the NHL department of player safety, headed up by former Red Wing Shanahan.

Why do I bring up the fact that Shanahan was a former Red Wing, and part of the most vicious rivalry in recent NHL history, the celebrated Avs-Wings “Blood Feud” rivalry? Well, normally I never would. But I gotta tell ya, the Avalanche front office and many, many of its fans are convinced the NHL gives them unfavorable treatment, just because not many around the league don’t like the Avalanche. Normally I’d laugh off any conspiracy theory like that, but doing nothing about ridiculously obvious penalties like MacKenzie’s doesn’t stop the conspiracy theorists at all, and only makes me perk my ears up a little more that maybe, just maybe, there is something to it.

I always said that Peter Forsberg was the victim of an absolute joke of a double standard as a player. He took more cheap shots than any player of the recent age, yet very, very few of them were ever penalized by major penalties and/or suspensions. Joe Sakic – JOE FREAKIN’ SAKIC – was once SUSPENDED for a PLAYOFF game by former NHL discipline czar Brian Burke for a completely innocent collision with Detroit’s Kris Draper in 1998. Sakic was trying to GET OUT OF THE WAY of Draper when they collided at center ice, and Sakic gets a one-game suspension for Game 1 of the first round against Edmonton. The Avs lost that one game and lost the series in seven games. That remains the worst disciplinary decision I’ve ever seen in my years covering this game. Call me an Avs homer all you want, I don’t care. It was and remains a joke.

We’ve seen Gabe Landeskog get crushed with a hit this year that resulted in no suspension, but I actually thought it was a good hockey hit. Tough, yes, maybe Stuart left his feet too much, yes, but Landy had his head down at the blue line and that’s what happens when you do.

But here is Milan Hejudk, a clean, gentlemanly player, a true credit to the sport, getting crushed by a Lambeau Leap from a stiff player on the worst team in the league and there’s no call. Hejduk tonight will miss his second straight game because of that hit. He’s out with a torso injury. He left the ice after the hit, but toughed it out to play the rest of that game Sunday. But he was playing hurt, and then the injury worsened. Now, the Avs are without a former Rocket Richard Trophy winner, a key part of their team still, while Derek MacKenzie gets to go on his merry way and play for Columbus.

The NHL department of player safety apparently thinks nothing of this whole thing.

Nice work, Paul Devorski, Tim Peel and Brendan Shanahan. You’re not at all feeding the conspiracy theorists that the league has it in for the Avs.

It’s a complete joke and if someone doesn’t punch MacKenzie’s lights out in the next game I’m going to lose all respect for the team. I’m not at all condoning returning the favor with a cheap hit, but someone better square off and beat his face in. That was a cheapshot plain and simple, on a guy who would never even consider playing that way.

Ed

Typical of you to come on here advocating for someone to get injured. You’re classless. Just stop posting here, will you?

Cougs_suck

Whatever dude I didn’t advocate anywhere in there for someone to hurt MacKenzie, I just want someone to square up with him and kick his butt just like O’Byrne did to Stuart, and just like players have been doing since the first puck dropped in the NHL. It’s how the game is policed.

As far as you insinuating that I advocate for players to be injured all the time that’s a bald faced lie, I’ve never advocated injuring another player. Talk about classless.

Ed

So, stating that you want someone to “beat his face in” isn’t advocating for someone injuring him? Okay, man. That just makes tons of sense. LOL.

Get lost, you loser.

lordstanley01

Hockey players get their faces beaten in all the time. That’s why their dentists are so busy. It’s part of the job. And squaring off man-to-man in an attempt to beat each others’ faces in is part of the game. I don’t see the comment as advocating for anyone to get injured necessarily.

Cougs_suck

Thanks, apparently someone at the DP felt the need to to humor him so his feelings didn’t get hurt because they deleted my comment. Meanwhile his name calling is apparently ok by them. They also made me censor a 3 letter word that describes your hind quarters, so apparently the Denver Post is employing 80 year old women as moderators now but whatever.

Glad someone else could see what I was trying to say and appreciate you backing it up.

Jimbotronn

Cougs, all you have to do is abbreviate what you want to say, then the DP mods let you say anything you want no matter how foul!

Cougs_suck

Yep it’s called fighting, it’s the way the game has always been policed and it’s the cleanest way to take care of something like that. Two guys squaring off face to face in a fair match, I didn’t ask for someone to leave their feet like he did and try to take him out, I never asked for someone to injure him.

As far as the name calling, I’m not a 5 year old so I’m going to take the high road on that one. Hilarious that the Denver Post removes my comment but is ok with your name calling and lying.

John

It’s no longer a conspiracy theory once there’s an obvious trend involved. I have no doubt Shanahan will confirm it’s no conspiracy theory the next time an Avalanche player elbows an opposing player in the head or jumps a foot off the ice into an opposing player. Nor do I doubt the refs will call a major penalty/game misconduct on the Avalanche player involved in said action.

2me

You didn’t happen to see the blatant elbow Wednesday night that Paul Stastny threw at the head of the Blackhawks Andrew Shaw? Didn’t think so. I direct shot to the head of a player who was about to check Paul after he made a pass. Should have been a penalty at the least, maybe a few bucks, no suspension. Give Shanahan back has glasses. You can’t see with them either

John

I did see it and Stastny should have been penalized. How many other instances can you name where Stastny did something like that? I’m an Avalanche fan and realize when one of our players does something wrong. Are you an Avalanche fan or just a troll?

2me

I didn’t realize you had to have a history before you could get a penalty or a fine. A suspension yes in most cases. I’m a hockey fan that watches lots of games is all. I can be a troll against bad plays that go unpunished. Shanahan may have let it go because Shaw has been an untethered cannon at times. Glad to see some Avs fans can read. I’m in section 203 in a Hossa jersey tonight.

Jim

Unfortunately your little added comment that “Avs fans can read” does qualify you as a troll. I very, very seldom post bad mouth comments about a poster but the fact that you are a Red Wings fan and come from Detroit, possibly the worst city in the country really does make you a troll

rafterman

It’s this sort of disparity and gestapo-esque running of the NHL that chases away ESPN, and other would be support. I had a good friend that was a die hard wings fan during the feud years and they were completely blinded to the treatment players like foppa, or how about val kamensky’s broken forearm via a kirk maltby slash right before the playoffs (unpenalized in game or after). It has become so frustrating that I will not monetarily ever support the NHL again.

Guest

Exactly. The complete lack of consistency in the officiating is ridiculous. It’s one thing to miss a hook or an interference call. That just happens. Hopefully it doesn’t happen too often but the refs aren’t perfect. But what is inexcusable is when dangerous/reckless plays go unpenalized.

pbomber

Haven’t the Avs also gotten the least number of power plays of any team in the NHL…and record low levels the past two years? Also a part of the NHL conspiracy it appears.

Joe

The Avs don’t get power plays because they don’t work hard enough to draw penalties.

Puck Me Up

Tell that to McGinn since he just got his stick knocked out of his hands that led to the game-tying goal. Or perhaps to O’Reilly who was clearly being held behind the net by Seabrook. Hell, what about the other hit Hejduk took 2 games ago when he was leveled near the bench into the glass. I can go on and on here and show how penalties should be called but they’re not.

Nick D.

It’s not the other team’s fault that Zanon and McGinn can’t hold onto their lumber. Just because Avs players have weak wrists doesn’t mean a penalty needs to be called. But I’m not surprised that Avs fans resort to blaming the officials rather than the team’s coaching or the players.

That’s right, he disagrees with you, and uses complete sentences—he must be a troll!

Cougs_suck

So, every game the Avs lose they play great but the other team is just better? There are no bad calls? No bad goals? No bad efforts? No bad moves by Sacco? I agree fans can get carried away with placing blame, myself included, but give me a break, your assertion that anytime a team loses it’s just cuz the other team was better is just wrong.

Jimbotronn

I hardly said that… plenty of times, the Avs play terrible and lose. Of course there are bad calls, bad plays, bad goals, bad coaching decisions… but they happen to every team, and in the end it all comes out fairly evenly. The Avs have a .500ish record because they’re a .500ish team, that’s all.

My assertion is that the fans in this neck of the woods will find anything to blame for a loss, whether it’s true or not. They’d rather identify the scapegoat than just enjoy watching hockey, and I just don’t get that.

Bob_W

I agree 100%. I guess that makes 2 of us.

Puck Me Up

I’m fine with the Avs losing WHEN they actually show up to play and give it their all. There are lots of teams much better than Avs…I get that part. I get pissed when they DO show up to play and the refs end up beating them instead of the other team. The Avs out-played Chicago Weds night and they got burned by bad calls or no calls at all. It’s hard enough watching this team screw themselves time and time again, but when outside factors play a significant role in them losing, that’s worth mentioning in my book. And Yes, Shanahan does tend to overlook significant cheap shots giving to the Avs. When was the last time he dished out a suspension for an illegal hit on an Avs players?

Jimbotronn

The latest one I can recall was last season when Andy Sutton got five games for hitting Landeskog. What “significant cheap shots” against the Avs since then has Shanahan overlooked? And what suspensions against Avs players have come down since then? There’s been only one Avs player suspended under Shanahan’s reign, and that was Kevin Porter later that season for kneeing.

To contrast that, in that same stretch of time there have been six suspensions to Philadelphia players, five to Phoenix players, five to Buffalo players, four to Chicago players, four to Minnesota players, four to Pittsburgh players, and two to Detroit players. Yes, you read that right… Brendan Shanahan has issued more suspensions to Detroit players than Colorado players since the beginning of the 2011-21 season.

Puck Me Up

Hey, I never said a word about Shanahan penalizing the Avs more so than the Wings, so let’s not throw in some random “fact” to make an argument for how fair Shanahan has been overall. I think you forgot about the hit on Wilson where he was driven into the boards by that Punk from the Cansucks. And I don’t care how many times you say that the hit on Landeskog from Stuart was “a clean hockey hit” because it wasn’t. Stuart should have been nailed for that hit. There were a couple of others from last season and the year before as well that were overlooked by the Golden-Boy too. Therefore, he’s not the most objective guy to have in that role.

Secondly, I’m pretty sure my comment was mostly about how the Avs get screwed by the refs for countless no-calls on the ice. Sure, that happens with all teams from time to time, but it definitely happens more often with the Avs than any other team. And yes, I watch a lot of hockey, so there’s no argument that I’m only watching Avs games.

http://bowlinginthedark.blogspot.com Some Guy

So you’re objecting to Jimbotronn using facts to back up what he’s saying, and your belief that Shanahan is biased is based on “a couple [hits] from last season and the year before” that apparently weren’t memorable or blatant enough for you to even mention who got hit, who did the hitting, or why there should have been suspensions?

The argument that Shanahan is biased against the Avs—which, for the record, is ludicrous—would be a lot stronger if it were supported by some of those “random facts.”

Puck Me Up

Well, since you felt the need to chime in and offer some of your infinite wisdom as well, I’ll take the liberty of pointing out (once again) that the comment both you and Jimbo want to turn into a “I know so much more than you” discussion, was merely about the poor officiating the Avs endure more than any other NHL teams. But apparently, you both seem to be these dudes that like to take a piece of an entire conversation and focusing on one small point while negating the bigger topic of an individual post. Which is what most people call “trolling”.

There is somewhat of an argument that Shanahan is biased (or at least has been biased) towards the Avs when it comes to suspending players for dirty hits. And there are 2 examples mentioned specifically above, but I noticed you seemed to overlook those “facts”.

http://bowlinginthedark.blogspot.com Some Guy

So if I disagree with you on something you’ve written (“Shanahan does tend to overlook significant cheap shots given to the Avs”), I’m trying to show that “I know so much more than you” and I’m a troll? Give me a break.

Have it your way, though, I’ll address your statement that “the Avs endure more poor officiating than any other NHL team,” since that’s what you’d rather talk about: the notion that the Avalanche suffer from worse officiating than the other teams in the league is downright silly. There are blown calls in every game, and missed calls in every game. The game happens extremely fast, even at beer-league levels, and officials are bound to miss things becase (a) they’re human and (b) players are smart enough to try to get away with things when the refs aren’t watching. (I’m sure you know all this as well as I do.)

Now, I don’t know whether you’re inclined to believe that the disparity is accidental, just bad luck, or part of a systematic league-wide bias against Colorado, but I hear the latter theory around here surprisingly often and it’s absolute tripe.

If the Avs get called for a higher-than-average number of penalties—which I believe has been the case for the last several seasons—there are several causes that are more likely than a vast league conspiracy against them. For example, teams that get penalized a lot tend to be:

(1) Young and/or inexperienced
(2) Teams that play from behind often in their games
(3) Teams without particularly strong coaching
(4) Teams that are trying to “be tougher to play against.”

Sound like any team we know? Don’t these all make a ton more sense than the notion that some shadowy cabal, for reasons so ridiculously far-fetched that nobody’s had the nerve to put them in writing, wants to rig games against an Avalanche team that’s shown that it’s perfectly capable of losing, more often than not, without any help?

Puck Me Up

Again I’ll point out the obvious once more…I never said anything about there being a “vast league conspiracy against them”. I’ve never thought that, so I’m not sure why you keep insisting on responding to something I never said to make a point.

Anyone with more than a half a brain cell knows that there are blown calls league-wide. All sports suffer from poor officiating, no doubt. But my point is (and it will remain so) is that the Avs have gotten burned more than other hockey club when it comes to flagrant penalties not being called on their behalf. But never did I suggest that it was because of some conspiracy going on.

It’s understandable that something such as an offside penalty can be missed due to the quickness of the game, that’s expected as the refs cannot see everything little infraction on the ice. However, when it comes to calls not being made for several penalties occurring in the same game, especially when the refs are “right there” and they go uncalled, than in my mind it shows a lack of interest or lack of responsibility in keeping the game fair for both clubs. When that happens as often as does with the Avs, than hell yeah, someone from the FO needs to step up and argue with the league about so many significant penalties being overlooked in each game. As at least 3 of those penalties have cost them the game.

Jimbotronn

I love how you start by writing “I never said anything about there being a “vast league conspiracy against them,”” and then go on to pretty much argue that there is a vast league conspiracy against them. You wrote that the league shows no interest and/or responsibility in “keeping the game fair to both clubs.” That’s a bold assertion. When you say something like that, AND you also say that this “definitely happens more to the Avs than any other team,” you are pretty much saying there’s an anti-Avalanche bias by the NHL.

I’m also amused that you criticized somebody for taking one small piece of a conversation and focusing on that rather than the entire topic, yet right above that, after I pointed out that the Avalanche have been among the least-suspended teams under Shanahan’s reign, you respond by saying that you’re only interested in talking about things that happen TO the Avs… Shanahan’s response to things that happen BY the Avs does not factor into any discussion of his or his office’s objectivity towards the team.

http://bowlinginthedark.blogspot.com Some Guy

At the risk of focusing on one small point of the conversation, let me see if I have this straight: If I disagree with something you wrote (regarding your criticism of Shahanan) in a way that’s slightly too specific relative to the topic at hand, I’m a know-it-all and a troll.

And if I address the larger topic at hand—in this case, whether the Avs are getting an unfair deal with regards to penalties—just as you suggest, you object because you think I’m responding to something you said, even though I made it clear that I know you didn’t say it and wasn’t claiming that you had? (The sentence that starts, “Now, I don’t know whether you’re inclined to believe . . . ” makes it pretty obvious that I was discussing the tone I’ve seen on these message boards, rather than anything specific that you’d written.)

So I get grief when I respond to things you do write, and I get grief when I respond to things that you don’t. Despite my infinite wisdom, I’m having a hard time finding another option.

CMG

I’m curious to see if the same thing happened to your team’s players and legitimately cost them a game, if you’d say the same thing.
The idea that a player has ‘weak wrists’ shouldn’t really play into the fact that when they called the exact same penalty against the Avalanche in the game vs. Anaheim. In fact, it’s more evidence that a call SHOULD have been made instead. Perry gets his stick knocked out of his hands and it’s a penalty, but the same thing happens to Zanon (by Perry, for the record), and there’s no call, and the Avs pretty much lose the game because of it.

In terms of McGinn, he was engaged with a player (Toews) and lost his stick as a result of another player (Bolland) interfering with his attempts to defend, which also resulted in a goal and, it could be argued that, that non-call eventually cost the Avalanche the game (and it goes both ways, too — i.e. Duchene’s breakaway goal against Nashville).

They both should have been called penalties, regardless of a player’s perceived wrist strength. If you start calling penalties because one player is or isn’t stronger than the other, then you’re kind of missing the point.

Should they have been called penalties? Yes. Did the fact that they were not called penalties affect the Avalanche negatively? Yes. As mentioned before, if both penalties had been called, the games could have had completely different outcomes (if the Toews goal doesn’t happen, the Avs go up 5-on-3 on the powerplay and potentially score 2 goals, leaving them with a 4-1 lead, for example). Is it a conspiracy against the Avalanche? Don’t be ridiculous. Referees miss calls, but this year it has been ridiculous. Darren Dreger and Pierre LeBrun talked about that on TSN last week, that NUMEROUS NHL GMs were very dissatisfied with the way games were being officiated (that is, not JUST the Avalanche). The officiating needs to be better and more consistent league wide. That’s the bottom line.

WINGSFan

Bad coaching by Joe Sacco and terrible goaltending by Varlamov are the reasons why your team sucks. Oh yeah, and also because your “youngest captain in NHL history” can’t get his game together and has no idea how to lead a team in any way, shape, or form.

Puck Me Up

It looks as though someone is still hanging onto the past. The 90’s are over and so are the Chicken Wings. So stop being a tool and go hope and pray BabbleCock develops your young players overnight because that’s the only hope you’ll ever have of being an elite team again.

Feel Me

It’s not our fault that we have to deal with so many stupid comments in one blog either, but yet, here we are!!!!!

jmpmk2

You mean dive?

Ed

Stastny with a flying elbow on Shaw. Suspension coming. I say an easy 5 games.

Cougs_suck

Yep, flying elbow alright, a player gliding down the ice while another player comes from his blindside a good few seconds after the puck is gone is definitely a flying elbow. ed up. Not even sure if Stastny meant to do it but regardless it should have been called, but stop trying to bend the truth and act like it was malicious.

After everything else Chicago got away with though I don’t feel so bad about it.

Avsolutely

Shanny will make sure to make a statement with Staz. He is going on a short break for sure. Shanny sucks.

Jimbotronn

Well, either Shanahan doesn’t realize Stastny still plays for the Avalanche, or this Shanny/Avs bias thing is complete and utter nonsense with less basis in fact with each passing day: scuttlebutt says no review for this one.

CMG

Didn’t Shaw run Staz earlier in the game before the elbow happened?

I’m not saying in any way that there was malicious intent on Stastny’s part, but chances are he knew somebody was there, and likely who it was, too.

Let’s not forget he is Peter Stastny’s son. And Paul has shown previously that he inherited Peter’s mean streak / temper on at least some level.

Was it a penalty? Yes. Should it have been called? Yes. Did Stastny do it on purpose? That’s debatable. Was their malicious intent? Unless Paul comes out and says so, I don’t believe it.

Cougs_suck

I don’t know, he could have, Shaw isn’t the cleanest player in the league, even on the elbowing incident he was going to hit Stastny well after the puck was gone. It was a penalty no doubt, but I don’t think there was malicious intent at all.

Avsolutely

Great Post AD. If I say something like this on milehighhockey, Stevehouse gets his panties all in a wad. douchetard.

Puck Me Up

I hate Shanahan and always will. He’s a putz and will always be a putz. He’s just the blue-collar version of Bettman in my book.

HockeyJoe

Paul Devorski should have been run out of the league by now, it’s a travesty that he is still allowed to work in the nhl or any league. He spent years tormenting the leagues best players like Forsberg during the prime of their careers with non calls and blown calls. Then fairly recently he gave the a wild 7 straight penalties and Columbus none during a game and he mocked and taunted the blue jacket fans and then flipped them off! Very professional, what a prick. Refs who worked during the clutch and grab years should all be gone, they are an embarrassment to hockey.

Jay

Dater,
What exactly are the NHL rules in this situation? I ask because I don’t know enough about the rules to make a judgement one way or the other. It’s clear that MacKenzie jumped and left his feet when he checked Hejduk, but it also appears that he never targeted/hit Hejduk’s head. This would seem to indicate that there’s no intent to injure Hejduk, but unfortunately it resulted in an injury regardless. If leaving your feet to check a player is a penalty than the Avs clearly got screwed, otherwise, maybe not. Can you please clarify what makes this a penalty?

CMG

Rule 42.1 reads “A minor or major penalty shall be imposed on a player who skates or jumps into, or charges an opponent in any manner.”

He left his feet to hit Hejduk = charging.

Whether or not he targeted the head or not would be a different matter, as stated by Rule 48.

Mark

Cody McLeod boarded a Minnesota player head first into the end boards last season and there was no form of discipline from the league. If the Avs are willing to dish out dangerous hits, they can also deal with dangerous hits being put on their own players.

CMG

That’s not really relevant to the discussion on the non-call charging penalty, is it?

I can only assume you’re referring to the hit McLeod made on Spurgeon last winter? Which, yes, was clearly a boarding call, plain and simple. There’s really no way to defend that hit. McLeod either should have minimized contact and pinned him to boards instead of actually hitting him into them, or not hit him at all.
BUT let’s remember that McLeod was coming up on Spurgeon at speed while the Minnesota defender was attempting to stop on his edges. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, right? An object in motion stays in motion, right? If Spurgeon doesn’t stop right in front of McLeod with his back turned, the hit doesn’t end up being so bad as if he were to wheel around with the puck instead. If I recall correctly, McLeod received a 5 minute major for boarding a game misconduct, did he not? Given those circumstances, the Dept. of Player Safety likely concluded that the punishment he received in the game was punishment enough. Was that the right decision? That’s not really for me to say, and it’s debatable either way. Bottom line is that the hit shouldn’t have been made the way it was, and it’s unfortunate that Spurgeon was hurt during that game (bear with me, I don’t recall whether or not he was injured significantly as a result of the hit). Also, implying that Cody legitimately intended to injure Jared Spurgeon is not fair. That’s the same as implying that Justin Falk legitimately intended to injure David Jones in their fight the month prior, when Falk continued to throw punches at Jones while he was down on the ice and the linesmen were attempting to break it up. Let’s not forget, either, when Stephane Veilleux made the exact same play on Paul Stastny that McLeod made on Spurgeon during the last playoff series these two teams played. Does that the Wild are a bunch of knuckleheads with a penchant for playing dangerously? No, that’s an unfair accusation, same as saying that the Avalanche do the same thing.
There is no need to bring Cody McLeod into this situation as he isn’t involved at all, nor are the Minnesota Wild. A hit from last season against another team in a different situation need not be compared to this one, as there are completely different circumstances in play.

I’m not saying McKenzie should or shouldn’t be suspended, but actively leaving your feet to hit a player is the exact definition of charging and it should have been called a penalty, at the least. I don’t think McKenzie meant to hurt Hejduk with the hit, but it should have been called regardless.

Puck Me Up

Nicely stated commented. It’s nice to read one or two like this from time to time. Too bad it doesn’t occur very often though.

Cougs_suck

McLeod made a mistake, he clearly was not trying to hurt Spurgeon you could see his reaction to the hit. No defending the hit, but it was clearly not malicious. Minnesota fans have a hard on for McLeod, no one else in the league thinks much about the dude because he’s just another grinder, but according to Minnesota fans he’s the dirtiest player in the history of the NHL. Never been suspended mind you but they think he’s the worst. Meanwhile Clutterbuck is a saint, and Konopka is the toughest player to ever grace the ice.

Ramon

Its not only Dead-Wing-Shanahan – in 8 of 10 games the officiating is AGAINST the Avalanche. Just take a look at the Chicago game: instead of a 5on3 powerplay for the Avs, Chicago did score a shorthander after a clear interference penalty. A Chicago player clearly knocked the stick out of McGinns hands! And ? No call! Its a bad joke!

Wow, that blog entry sounds like it was written by some of the Avs fans I’ve seen post here.

Penalties get missed all the time. All. The. Time. Maybe the league looked at that hit and said “well, it should have been a 2 minute penalty for charging, but just because the refs missed a call doesn’t mean the player deserves to be suspended”. That’s a what a reasonable person might say.

Racer X

That comes from the fact that Devorski called a double minor on McCarty after he jumped Lemeuix and beat him silly. So… same ref. That’s why he brought it up.

Mark T

What I’m referring to is the two paragraph rant following the comment about McCarty and Lemeiux.

CHICAGO 45

THOSE WHO LIVE THAT FAR IN THE PAST ARE COWARDS AND LOSERS.. QUOTE FROM COACH DITKA

http://bowlinginthedark.blogspot.com Some Guy

Did Ditka leave his CAPS LOCK on too?

lordstanley01

You are right that penalties get missed frequently. It’s understandable given that hockey moves quickly and the referees are only human. A leaping head shot still deserves a review from the league office and a suspension though. Whether the officials saw the infraction or not has nothing to do with it. Shanahan has the benefit of instant replay.

If the league is really committed to controlling head shots and reducing the incidence of concussions, this one is a no-brainer (pun intended).

And yes, Stastny’s high elbow in the Chicago game deserves a look as well.

Mark T

That’s a much more reasonable way of saying it than what Mr. Dater wrote above. I disagree, however, that it was a “leaping head shot”. From the video posted in this blog, it appeared to be a leaping shoulder check that made contact primarily with Hejduk’s shoulder. From what I understand of the rules, that’s a 2 minute charging penalty and that’s it. If the league suspended every player who committed a 2 minute penalty and got away with it, there would be suspensions handed out every game.

On a related note, I disagree with the general sentiment (not given by you, per se) that if an unpenalized play results in an injury, it is automatically deserving of a suspension.

AHLanche

I’m not sure what Shanahan did to deserve any respect. Where I come from (CO) you have to give respect to get it. I have never seen Shanahan respect this organization on or off the ice, so where or when did he earn any respect? As for smaht, I’m glad you clarified that, because if he were smart, he’d help the NHL gain an audience by being impartial. But he isn’t smaht enough to know what impartial means.

It was a conspiracy decades ago. I’ve come to the conclusion that NHL is WWF on ice. Dives, pirhouettes, predetermined winners – they should just lift the steroid ban and let them go shirtless. Luckily I can flip from the NHL game on Altitude down one channel to Premier League Soccer, where they don’t dive as much and call the game fairly.

I do it at the beginning of the game if Devorski is announced, just like I used to with Koharski. Luckily he retired. Unlukily he is now another cog in the NHL biased supervisory scheme.

Jimbotronn

Wow, a new low for this blog… and that’s saying something.

Perhaps he did not get suspended because the league is using suspensions to crack down on hits to the head, and in this play, he didn’t contact Hejduk’s head but rather got his squarely in the shoulder? You do realize that not every penalty in a game warrants a suspension, right?

Should it have been a charging call? Clearly, it should have… a clearer case of a guy leaving his feet to make a hit would be difficult to find. But is Shanahan supposed to suspend each and every player who upon review is guilty of an unpenalized infraction? It sucks that Hejduk was hurt, but calling for a suspension for this hit is laughable, and blaming the lack of a suspension on the “Shanny hates the wings” nonsense is downright ridiculous. Grow up.

lordstanley01

I think the “leaving his feet” part is what may warrant a suspension. The rule is pretty clear. The fact that there was no call on the ice doesn’t matter at all. The suspension would not be a make-up call for an unpenalized infraction but a justified punishment for leaving one’s feet to deliver a high hit.

I’m not even going to bother addressing the whole conspiracy theory against the Avs because it’s a little too over the top for me.

Jimbotronn

Very true, the rule is clear, and if he left his feet and targeted the head, I’d agree 100% on suspension. But he got him in the shoulder, not the head. Without any head-shot aspect it’s merely charging. Jumping into a hit is already part of the definition of charging, and there’s already a penalty for it. If we strip this play of any of that over-the-top “Avs conspiracy” BS, all we’re left with is a garden-variety charging penalty that happened to both be missed by
the on-ice officials and result in an injury.

Bill

Setting aside the whole conspiracy nonsense, I think MacKenzie’s leap was so reckless and deliberate that it should warrant a closer look by the league. It might not quite be a suspension, but I don’t think a fine would be appropriate.

I know there is an emphasis on hits to the head, but suspensions and fines should still apply to other types of reckless, dangerous, or vicious actions even if it wasn’t a hit to the head (e.g. Kevin Porter being suspended for kneeing). Player safety should focus on everything, not just hits to the head.

Jimbotronn

Good points. I agree that the league has a responsibility to look into plays that do not target the head but are dangerous in some other way. That said, I still tend to think of this as a fairly normal example of a charging non-call and not measurably more reckless than any other charge, but if the league chose to look into it and possible fine MacKenzie, I certainly wouldn’t find that unusual. What is unusual is taking a run-of-the-mill play and making such a big deal out of it.

flyfysher

GFY.

http://bowlinginthedark.blogspot.com Some Guy

Brilliant and incisive, flyfysher. We’re all really impressed.

Smell the Glove

I think it was worthy of a mention, and I actually wanted to get another look at it since it was hard to miss the triple axle leap he took into Hejduk. I’m not really getting the need for excessive punctuation and conspiracy baiting though. It was a missed penalty. I’d like to see retribution for injuries that result in uncalled infractions but that’s a real slippery slope when you’re looking to perhaps undermine the officials on the ice with reviewing penalties, or non calls in every sense.

Really I have to say my bigger issue with this blog and MANY of the blogs lately is how tabloid they have become. The level of discourse around here is at an all time low. Even Chambers is getting in on the sissy slap-fight stuff now.

Raise your game up, gents, please.

Jimbotronn

Nice comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Smell the Glove

I almost spit coffee, you bastard

Jimbotronn

Dang, “almost” huh? I will try harder next time.

Kevin

Why don’t YOU find somewhere else to troll, since this place doesn’t seems to meet your requirements?

JJ

Where was all the outrage from Dater last season when McLeod tried to end Spurgeon’s career?

Cougs_suck

Really? When McLeod made a mistake and pushed him from behind and immediately after showed remorse? Or how was does your version of the story go? It was by no means a clean hit, but McLeod was not trying to hurt anyone, it was a very stupid mistake.

scottmanjack

This is a great article, lets not even mention we have lost two games because of the stick get slashed right out of our defenders hands costing the avs goals. Obvious calls as well. Oh and who had the least amount of PP time last year??? Oh ya Avs.

Jim T

When Rafi Torres hit Hossa last year the on ice officials didn’t call a penalty. The league needs to discipline officials.

Chantal

Did Shanahan play for the Red Wings when the rivalry between the Avs and the Red Wings was real?

Really. Mr. Dater and Mr. Chambers’ articles of late are just so childish!

Jimbotronn

Shanahan was traded to the Wings early in the 1996-97 season, and played with them through 2006, so yeah he was there for pretty much the entire meat of that rivalry.

HAWKBOY OF 45 YEARS

no bias?? did you not see the cheap shot elbow delivered by STASNY on SHAW IN CHICAGO?? no penalty. no fine, no SHANNYACTION. if you are going to “REPORT” on all the atrocities bestowed upon your sweeties from the marijuana mecca open your eyes and report in a fair and even manner. AV’S PLAYED A GREAT GAME FRIDAY!

Puck Me Up

They played a very solid game in Chicago as well. I’ll even take it a step further and say we had the Hawks beat in that game too, except for the BS no calls on the Hawks that were blatant infractions yet they were rewarded handsomely for them instead. Yes, the Stastny elbow should have been reviewed as it seemed intentional to me. But it still doesn’t change the fact that the Hawks still won based on BS no calls.

Oh yeah, I hear people in Chicago are trying pretty hard to get some this medical marijuana up there too so that all the dense people can move away from the brick weed.

http://bowlinginthedark.blogspot.com Some Guy

I’ve watched the video of that hit a couple of times, and it’s not clear that Stastny even once glances in Shaw’s direction before the elbow comes up. Shaw was behind Stastny (and out of his field of vision) until the two of them crossed the blue line, so unless he was lining Shaw up by watching him through the back of his own helmet, it doesn’t seem like a deliberate elbow to me.

I don’t know whether the play was reviewed (but I agree with Puck Me Up that it should have been) but the fact that there’s apparently no fine or suspension is the right call.

Terry Frei graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in the Denver area and has degrees in history and journalism from the University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked for the Rocky Mountain News while attending CU and joined the Post staff after graduation. He has also worked at the Oregonian in Portland, Ore., and The Sporting News. His seventh book, March 1939: Before the Madness, was issued in February 2014.

Chambers covers college and professional hockey for The Denver Post. He has written for the Post since 1994, after dumping his first 9-to-5 office job a couple years out of college. He primarily follows the University of Denver hockey team and helps cover the Avalanche.